Common Work Related Job Interview Questions and Answers

Author: admin

In our previous post entitled 10 Most Common Interview Questions and Answers we went through a series of questions and answers which we considered as most common during an interview. And we provided our vision about how to properly answer each question. In short (if you do not have the time to go through the article, even though we do recommend it) here are the 10 interview questions we enlisted:

Tell us about yourself
Why should we hire you?
Why do you want to work for us?
Have you had a work conflict with a colleague or a manager? and how was it resolved?
What is your greatest weakness?
What are your greatest strengths?
Why do you want to leave your current job?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
How do you cope with stress?
What salary do you have in mind?

In addition to the list above, we would like to enlist the common work related job interview questions and answers which you will probably face especially when the interviewer goes into details about your work experience. So here goes the list:

Your employer name, position title, and employment dates: Be as clear as possible, answering frankly and straight to the point. Do stress out the position titles you held especially if they related to the post you are applying to.
What duties you performed? Here, and especially in relating to the post you are applying to, mention exactly what you did, and highlight how relevant it is to the job you are applying to. Be positive about these responsibilities and this post, unless you are looking at never performing it again then you should be explicit at it.
Were your expectations met? Be confident in answering this question, and answer in relevance to your real expectations, which might be one of the reasons why you want to leave your current employer. But if any criticize the role but not the persons.
Did you face issues at work? and how did you resolve them? Everyone has issues every now and then at work. The interviewer is trying to get from you a situation that would show your problem resolution skills, as well as your communication skills with others, and your capability to work as a team player. Do highlight these three items in your answer, and provide explicit examples.
What did you like and dislike your old job? Typically an answer would revolve around human relations. It is very common for interviewed job seekers to respond as we loved the ambiance, or the colleagues were friendly. This is a good answer, try to highlight the positive aspects of your job, do not over trash it, but do also mention why you left/had to leave.
What did you learn from mistakes? Typical answers include persistence, giving second chances, anything that would turn a negative aspect into a positive aspect.
What was your biggest accomplishment? Make sure to come ready to the interview with at least one or more accomplishments in mind. You helped do this, you did that, you were dedicated in..
What was your biggest failure? If you can’t think of any big failure, then say so, but at least mention something minimal (do not mention you burnt the company headquarters or the likes!) that you think could be perceived as a small failure, and which you were able to resolve and improve.
How was your relationships with your supervisor/manager? The purpose is to get an overview about how potentially your relationships will be with the next boss. Be calm and clear, and do not criticize personalities, if any it’s actions.
What are your expectations from your manager/supervisor? Be clear in what you expect, and it usually hovers over few several ideas: feeling appreciated when performing well, motivated, praised as well as respected, and given proper power to perform my duties fully
Why did you leave/are you leaving your employer? Typically answers would revolve around looking for better opportunities, my current work is limited, looking for more and new challenges, no growth potential, not feeling appreciated, overworking for long hours (if this is a concern for you which you do not want to face with your new job then make sure to mention it), but make sure not stress out a low salary issue as you might show as a money-seeker only.
Why were you fired? You would want to show that something had changed at the organization, for example a new manager came and did not appreciate what I do, or my skills did not match the last job, I did not perform well due to my lack of interest in the position, I wasn’t too keen in performing or understanding my role but now i have gained more experience and would like to chance to show that.
Who do you consider was your worst boss, and who was your best? why? Typically the interviewer is trying to see if you carry anger and grudge over prior employers. A good answer would be you have learned from prior employers, as well as from any mistakes they committed.
What was your salary? I guess we already mentioned this in the last article, but interviewers will try to ask this question to build an expectation about how much will the job seeker be looking for. Like we said before if it matters too much to you, give the blunt value do not be shy about it. Do not lie as they might check on it, even though your prior employer most likely will not share this piece of information.